Web Page 836

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An icon of the 60’s a Davy Crocket Hat, see News and Views Section.

Bottom Picture:

Pictures from the School Reunion, was it really over eight years ago? Who do you recognise?

Robin Hall and Jimmie Macgregor

Robin Hall and Jimmy MacGregor are remembered as one of Scotland’s most popular folk duos. They first teamed up in January 1960 after meeting in Vienna. But most of us will remember them as providing, along with Cy Grant, the musical section on the BBC magazine programme ‘Tonight’ introduced by Cliff Michelmore and they subsequently appeared most nights for the next 14 years. Tonight was watched by roughly seven million viewers. Macdonald Hastings, Fyfe Robertson, Slim Hewitt and Alan Whicker roamed the world for Tonight. Whilst in the studio, Cliff Michelmore, Derek Hart and Geoffrey Johnson-Smith along with reporters Kenneth Allsop, Christopher Brasher, Julian Pettifer, Brian Redhead and Polly Elwes became household names.
Robin Hall even hit the political headlines when the programme's producers asked him to remove his CND badge from his guitar before he went on air. His refusal was a stand on a point of political principle, the Scottish roots of his music sprang as much from the gritty parodies of the anti-Polaris protesters as from the Celtic twilight. It is significant that one of his last gigs reunited with his old partner was a reunion concert in the early Nineties for all those anti-bomb protesters whose songs had ensured that the Scottish revival was rooted in concerns of the present.

The release on the Decca label of the single Football Crazy in 1960 received a great deal of airplay and became one of their most popular songs. In the early sixties Robin and Jimmie regularly (though not exclusively) performed as part of the Galliards, a quartet made up of them, Shirley Bland and Leon Rosselson, appearing regularly on radio, and are particularly remembered for the series Hullabaloo. They went on to tour the world, recorded more than 20 albums, and appeared on countless television programs. Another series that brought them great acclaim and recognition was The White Heather Club, which they hosted for five years. Their distinctive harmonies and enormous repertoire of songs, many of which they introduced during this period, have gone on to become folk standards.

Their television appearances made them a big national attraction, and they headlined concerts where the support act was a then little-known Merseyside group, the Beatles. They even topped the bill at the Cavern, in Liverpool.
They began recording almost immediately after they started singing together. After an initial series of EPs for the tiny Collector label, they made their first LP for Decca in 1961. As its title, Scottish Choice, implied, it was a selection of songs from north of the border. Then followed a series of 21 other albums, concluded in 1978 by Songs for Scotland, for Decca's Celtic subsidiary, the Beltona label. Robin Hall's decision to break up the partnership in 1979 came as something of a shock to his partner. When Jimmy Macgregor speaks of it today he is still hurt by its suddenness, though he believes it was their daunting workload of concerts prompted Robin Hall to leave so suddenly. They came together again in 1994 for a final appearance, for a 20-minute spot in a Christmas concert at Glasgow's Royal Concert Hall, and, Jimmy Macgregor recalls, "It was as if we'd never been away."
Robin Hall was born in Edinburgh in 1937, studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and tried acting for a while. He suffered from Polio as a child, though he never allowed it to intrude on his public performances. Though he did some radio work after the break-up of the duo, he was off the scene for many years. His second marriage ended, and he lived alone in Queen Margaret Drive, Glasgow. This is where the police found his body on 18 November 1998. He appeared to have been dead for several days.

Jimmie Macgregor has had a long and varied broadcasting career latterly as an award winning radio and television presenter. When he arrived in London with sixty pounds and an old Abbott-Victor guitar, he soon found himself in demand in the few folk clubs which existed at that time, and with jazz and skiffle clubs opening up, it was possible to make a modest living doing the one thing that he wanted to do - make music. Specialist radio programmes began to appear: Guitar Club, Stringalong, Roundabout, Easy Beat, Skiffle Club, Saturday Club etc. Jimmie performed regularly in all of these, solo or with a variety of partners and groups, and latterly with Robin Hall. As his long term partnership with Robin Hall drew to a close, Jimmie Macgregor moved on as an award winning radio presenter. His daily Macgregor's Gathering for BBC Scotland ran for more than ten years and further enhanced his reputation as one of Scotland's top personalities Jimmie has had a lifelong interest in wildlife, is a dedicated conservationist, and periodically escaped from the studio to make radio and television programmes on long distance walks in Scotland, Ireland, Canada and the Arctic. Most of these trips resulted in books. He now presents them as illustrated talks around the country, and his energy and enthusiasm for his various interests remains undimmed.

Take Care and keep in touch

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com
Pj.keat@ntlworld.com

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Val would like to know what happened to Michael Hutchins, can anyone help?

News and Views:

Fess Parker, best known for his TV roles of Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone, died on March 18 at his home in Santa Ynez Valley, California from natural causes. He was 85 and had been married to the same woman for 50 years. He was born in 1924 in Ft. Worth, Texas and served in the Marines in World War II (though at six foot, six inches, he was too tall to achieve his ambition of being a pilot). After the war, he graduated from the University of Texas before moving to California to become an actor. He was under contract to Warner Brothers but it was at the Disney studios that he made his mark. The song, "Ballad Of Davy Crockett," which came originally from a December 1954 episode of "Disneyland," became a no. 5 hit the following Spring for Fess. Disney took the TV episode along with its two sequels and created the movie, "Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier." He also charted with the song "Wringle Wrangle" from his Disney film, "Westward Ho, The Wagons!" Other movies included "Old Yeller" and "The Great Locomotive Chase." In 1964, he starred in NBC-TV's "Daniel Boone," which showed for six seasons. He later entered real estate development in California, including the Fess Parker Doubletree Resort in Santa Barbara and a winery nearby.

On this day 12th May 1960-1965

On 12/05/1960 the number one single was Cathy's Clown - Everly Brothers and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Wagon Train (ITV) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 12/05/1961 the number one single was Blue Moon - The Marcels and the number one album was GI Blues - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was No Hiding Place (AR) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 12/05/1962 the number one single was Wonderful Land - The Shadows and the number one album was Blue Hawaii - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Film star Emilio Estevez born

On 12/05/1963 the number one single was From Me To You - The Beatles and the number one album was Please Please Me - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Labour Party Political Broadcast (all channels) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 12/05/1964 the number one single was Don't Throw Your Love Away - Searchers and the number one album was Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones. The top rated TV show was Conservative Party Political Broadcast (all channels) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 12/05/1964 the number one single was Don't Throw Your Love Away - Searchers and the number one album was Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones. The top rated TV show was Conservative Party Political Broadcast (all channels) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 12/05/1965 the number one single was Ticket to Ride - The Beatles and the number one album was Beatles For Sale - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's money was worth £11.69 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.